Commercial Operations Accountant

About the role

Spectra Oil is a leading provider of lubrication solutions to the mining and industrial sectors across Central and Southern Africa. The company is seeking a commercially‑minded and analytically strong accountant to reinforce financial discipline across its commercial and operational activities.

Key responsibilities

• Analyse purchasing, inventory, supplier and operational trends to identify cost‑saving opportunities, improve efficiency and optimise working capital.
• Support pricing reviews, product and customer margin analysis, surcharge pass‑through assessments and other commercial evaluations.
• Develop and manage commercial rules governing SKU performance, including margin thresholds, stock velocity, ABC classifications, safety‑stock parameters, rationalisation and obsolescence management.
• Build and maintain finished‑goods cost models covering raw materials, packaging, conversion costs, production yields and waste, ensuring accurate costing within the ERP system.
• Review purchasing requirements, assess supplier pricing and payment terms, and ensure operational expenditure is commercially justified.
• Analyse distribution costs, transporter performance, route economics and depot efficiency to support freight and logistics decisions.
• Provide financial and commercial analysis to support customer pricing discussions, spot‑pricing decisions and key customer engagements.
• Improve visibility of purchasing and inventory activity to support cash‑flow forecasting, purchasing discipline and working‑capital management.
• Develop dashboards, automated controls and reporting tools that improve visibility of inventory, SKU performance, working capital, obsolescence and distribution costs.
• Act as a key link between finance, supply chain, sales, depots and distribution operations to promote data‑driven decision‑making.

Required profile

• Commercially minded and analytically strong accountant.
• Experience working with ERP systems and financial modelling.
• Ability to collaborate across finance, supply chain, sales and operations functions.

Required skills

• ERP